I Thirst
John 19:23-30 (ESV):
23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic.d But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, 24 so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” So the soldiers did these things, 25 but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.
The Death of Jesus
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scrip ture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Introduction
The first three words show Jesus thinking of the needs of others rather than of his own.
And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:24a)
For the soldiers that beat Him and nailed Him on the cross. For the religious leaders who falsely accused Him or the people who mocked Him, spat on Him.
And He said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be
with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)
For that calming re-assurance that He gave to a repentant sinner.
He said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the dis ciple, “Behold, your mother!” ( John 19:26-27 )
Words of comfort for His already widowed mother Mary who was not just losing a Son, but also had to witness His humiliation and His slow, agonizing and gruesome death.
“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt 27:46)
Expresses the deep emotional anguish due to His spiritual separation from the Fa ther at the cross as He bore the sins of us all.
“I thirst” ( John 19:28 )
“dipso” in Greek. It is the shortest but is no less important. None of the four gos pels contained all of the seven last words of Jesus Christ. The fifth utterance is recorded only by the apostle John.
John 19:28-29 (ESV):
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scrip ture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
What can we learn from this passage?
I. His Messiahship
Last week, Bishop Jerry explained that when Christ said “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me”, it was not merely an expression of resentment or com-
plaint. Rather it was connected to the Messianic Psalm 22.
Psalm 22:1-2:
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? 2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest.
This is just one of the Old Testament prophesies concerning the Messiah that were fulfilled in Christ at the cross.
In today's Gospel passage, it is written that Jesus spoke these words “I thirst", it came with the phrase “that the Scripture might be fulfilled."
Ps 69:21
They gave me poison for food,
and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.
Ps 22:15
my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.
Jesus fulfills Old Testament prophecies, confirming his true identity as the Messi ah. Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophecies in his life and death, with at least 30 spe cifically related his arrest until his crucifixion. These prophecies include betrayal by a friend, abandonment by his disciples, false accusations, silence before judg
es, guiltlessness, scourging, beating, death with transgressors, taunting, gambling for garments, praying for enemies, forsakenness by God, yielding himself to God, piercing of his body, unbroken bones, and burial in a rich man's grave.
And from this passage, we can add to that list his thirstiness and the sour wine
that he was given.
Of Jesus’ last words.“I thirst” was the only one that conveyed the unbearable physical pain He endured.
Before we go deeper, let me ask the question… Have you ever felt thirsty and why? Because we are flesh and blood -- Human. Thirst is a common condition of the human body.
• Water makes up almost 2/3 of the human body.
• The body needs about 2.5 quarts of water a day to function properly • In an average lifespan, a person will consume over 16,000 gallons of water.
• Generally, the body can survive 40 days without food, but only about 5 days without water.
When Jesus said I thirst… Probably, no other statement of Jesus on the cross so forcefully expresses His humanity
II. His Humanity
A) In His humanity, He reveals God’s nature and glory.
John 1:14, 18:
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glo ry, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
B) In His humanity, He identifies with our nature and our infirmities. Phil 2:6-8:
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becom ing obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
I like what Charles Spurgeon said in one of his messages.
“The sea is his, and he made it,” and all fountains and springs are of his digging. He poureth out the streams that run among the hills, the torrents which rush adown the mountains, and the flowing rivers which enrich the plains. One would have said, If he were thirsty he would not tell us, for all the clouds and rains would be glad to refresh his brow, and the brooks and streams would joyously flow at his feet. And yet, though he was Lord of all he had so fully taken upon himself the form of a servant and was so perfectly made in the likeness of sinful flesh, that he cried with fainting voice, “I thirst.” How truly man he is; he is, in deed, "bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh," for he bears our infirmities. (Charles Spurgeon)
All throughout the gospels, we see His humanity on display. The humanity of Christ made it possible for him to experience what we experience – to feel what we feel, to be tempted as we are tempted.
Heb 4:15:
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weak nesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin
C) In His humanity, He provides us redemption.
Because sacrifice had to be made. Blood had to be shed. And God cannot die. So he became man. His humanity made it possible for him to suffer on our behalf
and provide redemption for us sinners.
III. His Suffering
Thirst is normal to man. It’s a common condition of the human body. Your body has to have so much water or liquid in it for it to function properly. If you fail to hydrate your body the way you should, thirst is just the initial stage.
But prolonged dehydration for several hours could lead to fever, terrible throb bing pain in the head, fainting, cramps in the abdomen, nausea, eyes and lips begin to dry, tongue gets swollen, the throat feels like sand paper, the vocal cords swell up that you can barely whisper.
If prolonged still, it can lead to organ damage, particularly the kidneys and the heart. And then eventually death. Dying of thirst and dehydration is one agoniz ing way to die.
A) Physical Pain
This was no ordinary thirst. When He cried saying, “I THIRST”, it was a cry of physical desolation.
Ps 22:15:
my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.
For Jesus, His last meal would have been in the supper with His disciples the day before. And since then He had been arrested, dragged to a sham of a trial before the religious leaders, Herod and Pilate. He had been beaten and scourged – 39 times with a whip that had bits of metal or bone at the tips, and each time sure to rip skin and flesh. A crown of thorns was forced on His head. A robe placed on and later ripped off on His bleeding back. He was made to carry a cross but
was too weak and exhausted that He fell three times and another man was tasked to carry the cross the rest of the way. And then He was nailed and hung on the cross to die.
Crucifixion was designed to inflict as much pain and discomfort to the one condemned until he dies. Exhaustion and dehydration were the primary causes of death during crucifixion. And Christ was both exhausted and dehydrat ed. He had suffered and bled and sweated all night, with neither food nor drink and may not have had a moment of rest. Now on the cross under the scorching heat of the mid-day sun, with excruciating pain not only on his hands and feet, but also on his chest and limbs as he makes a labored effort to take each breath, all physical pain welled up to single cry of lament, “I thirst.”
B) Emotional Pain
Betrayed by a friend, denied by another, deserted by His companions Humiliated & mocked by the accusers and the crowd.
Sympathy for His mother and what she had to go through.
C) Spiritual Pain
He, who from eternity past has been one with the Father, now agonizes because of separation from the Father. “Heaven looked away” as He bore the sins of men. For how long did God the Father turned His face from His beloved Son? Was it from noon when the sky darkened until Jesus final breathe. Or from the time He was nailed to the cross. Or from much earlier after He had surrendered “not My will, but Yours” in Gethsemane, through His arrest, trial, scourging, beating, cruci fixion until he breathed His last. However long, He must have felt the same senti ment as the Psalmist.
Psalm 42:1-2
1 As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
This was agony – physically, emotionally, spiritually. Yet in all these, He knew the plan. (v. 28)
And in obedience to the Father and His love for you and I, He said, “not My will, but Yours be done”, He endured the cross and paid the price so that we would be redeemed.
“I thirst.” It was neither a command or a plea. But one of the on-lookers, a Ro man guard most likely, recognized what needed to be done. The guard soaked a sponge with a sour wine and vinegar, put it in a hyssop branch and reached up and gave it to Jesus to drink. This he did, despite the hostile crowd and the ob jection of another guard. Jesus drank, or more likely sipped to moisten His parched mouth, so He would be able to declare “It is finished!”.
The guard may not have heard of Christ teaching, whatever you do to the least of My brethren you did it unto Me. But a privilege it must have been to have had that opportunity to do that act of mercy to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Who knows, if in the end, he could be one who believed what the Roman centurion declared “Truly this Man was the Son of God”.
Remember the sacrifice that Christ went through for our sake. We can never re pay it. But surely He will be pleased when we thirst for the living God, thirst for His Word, and thirst for His righteousness for as long as He gives us breath.